MEDIA RELEASE

On the 14th November, Mark Pearson, MLC for the Animal Justice Party, lodged a complaint about what we believe to be evidence of systemic and widespread criminal activity in the greyhound racing industry. This complaint was sent directly to the Assistant Police Commissioner Geoff McKechnie and was based on information researched and compiled from the hundreds of boxes of unprivileged (open to the public) materials that the late John Kay had ordered be sent to the Legislative Council for viewing.

The materials, obtained from Greyhound Racing NSW, contained what we considered to be evidence of race fixing, possession and use of illegal substances and of course, animal cruelty.

After numerous delays, and non response, we finally received a response from NSW Police, which vindicates the complaints. It may also explain why at least one of my research volunteers received anonymous threats after my letter was sent to police.

In the response from Deputy Commissioner Regional NSW Field Operations, Gary Warboys:

“The information you provided was examined and I am advised that a series of recommendations relating to your concerns are being examined by the Greyhound Racing Integrity Commission. Notwithstanding those investigations, you might be aware that the NSW Police Force has been conducting separate investigation through Strike Force Inbob and as a result Detectives investigating race fixing and irregular betting in greyhound racing has recently charged two trainers over the alleged possession of euthanasia drugs and steroids.”

Mark Pearson:

“The response from the NSW Police vindicates the importance of the Animal Justice Party’s formal complaint to Assistant Police Commissioner Geoff McKechnie. Our compliant detailed very serious criminal activities, seemingly going on unchecked and unabated by GRNSW. It is now apparent that Strike Force Inbob and other departments of the NSW Police have taken the analysis of the evidence compiled and presented and has now been instrumental in ongoing investigations including the laying of charges against two greyhound trainers for alleged dog doping and drug possession.”

Clearly the industry remains under robust scrutiny by government authorities and the greyhound advocacy groups around NSW and I will continue to provide any ongoing evidence to the police until the inevitable collapse of this repugnant industry.

I fully support the right of each person to marry the partner of their choice, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.

Marriage has changed throughout the ages, reflecting the values and aspirations of each succeeding generation. Up until the 1950s, children could legally marry; brides as young as twelve and grooms fourteen years of age. It is not that long ago that wives pledged to ‘honour and obey’ their husbands and married women were unable to own property or earn an equal wage. Matrimony was once an obligatory life-time commitment, regardless of the breakdown of the marriage, with divorce a rarity until the family law reforms of the 1970s. Reliable contraception, smaller families, changing social attitudes and longer lifespans mean that marriage is no longer primarily about raising children. Our current ideal of a loving marriage between two consenting adults who wish to share their lives together as equals is very much a 21st century concept.

I consider that our society is well and truly ready for another change; to include same sex couples in the modern definition of marriage. It is in reality a very small step; widening the arc of love and legal commitment to include two adults that are of the same gender. The Netherlands enacted same sex marriage in 2001 and the dykes haven’t collapsed into the sea. Belgium still makes the best chocolate, even vegan chocolate and in Australia any wailing or gnashing of teeth as a consequence of gaining marriage equality, will all be over by morning tea.

I believe that the public celebration of loving, happy and respectful relationships in all their diversity is a social good. Every Australian should have the same rights under law, including the expression of their sexual love in a State-approved marriage. Marriage equality fosters inclusiveness and acceptance which advances the physical, mental and spiritual health of same-sex attracted people. Surely such an emotionally mature and enriching relationship will provide a strong foundation for a loving family environment in which to raise children. I believe the right to marry is an inalienable and fundamental human right for all consenting adults, regardless of gender.

I wanted to personally apologise to all my supporters who may have read media reports about an error of judgement with my eating habits. As a long term animal rights campaigner I am fully aware of the impact of a person’s diet on the suffering of others. I remain committed to moving swiftly towards an essentially plant based diet. I am now fully committed to not eating any animal product where sourcing could have involved harm. As an MP for the Animal Justice Party I understand the spotlight that is on all my actions and that I am held accountable in the role to everyone in the animal rights movement.

For almost 25 years I have worked on animal rights issues. I have been in the frontline for change many times. I have witnessed many atrocities and have never hesitated to take a stand for making the lives of non-human animals better. Over those years, with others but often leading the campaign, I have achieved a ban on chaining sows and phasing out sow stalls in piggeries, banning of kangaroo meat exports to Russia, phasing out of mulesing and use of analgesia in the wool industry and stopping live export ships from entering ports and been apart of many great movements which have saved the lives of thousands of animals.

It is a privilege to represent the AJP in NSW parliament and I will continue to be the sole voice for animals in an arena that holds little regard for our animal friends. In the coming weeks alone I have my first Bill to protect confined animals from burning and suffocating in disasters as well as mandatory CCTV cameras in slaughter houses and an inquiry into the prescribed investigation agencies of the legislation protecting animals as priorities. I want to thank everyone who has backed me and please know that nothing will detract from my dedication for change.

MEDIA RELEASE

I congratulate the Total Environment Centre for undertaking their year-long project “SOS Green Spaces” which maps threatened spaces in 70 locations across Sydney with detailed information about local trees, native species, and resident action groups.

The Baird and now Berejiklian Government is presiding over urban development on steroids. It will cause the destruction of vital areas of remnant habitat for rare and endangered animals and plants.

It seems obvious to point out that vegetation clearing in these areas would leads directly to animal deaths through habitat loss and consequent starvation and exposure to predation. Clearing for development is the single most important factor in the decline of wildlife in the Sydney region.

We are talking about a bio-region that contains endangered and vulnerable frog species, 54 vulnerable and 14 endangered bird species, 25 vulnerable and 3 endangered mammal species and 11 vulnerable and 2 endangered reptile species. In the forests of the sandstone plateau at least seven threatened ecological communities, 32 threatened resident animals and 100 threatened plant species are at risk of obliteration through development.

We must also remember the importance of providing resting, feeding and nesting places for migratory birds that are struggling to survive the loss of habitat as they undertake their journeys around the world.

Once a green space is gone, it’s gone forever and animals will disappear. It is a shocking legacy for our generation to bequeath to future generations who will rightly condemn our greed and short-sightedness.

As a young man still in his teens, I joined with friends from Newcastle and became one of the group of 78ers that participated in the first Mardi Gras. It was a distressing but also a celebratory experience. I remember looking at the police as they were arresting people and putting them into paddy wagons. To one officer I said, “I think one day the police will actually march with us in this parade.” He said, “You might be bloody right, son, but you better get out of here or you will end up in that paddy wagon.” I was lucky to escape a beating and my prediction about the police was quite prescient given the oppression gays and lesbians experienced from those in authority at that time. Now, of course, it doesn’t even raise an eyebrow when the police march at Mardi Gras. It is heartening to witness such positive changes over the decades.

For me, Mardi Gras has always been a joyful celebration of queer sexuality as well as the life-affirming message that we live and love in equal dignity and worth to everyone else in the community.

This year’s Mardi Gras theme of ‘equality’ makes sense to me. With equal marriage continuing to be a political football and the suicide rates for LGBTQI teenagers still too high, equality remains an elusive goal. While it is wonderful that a wide range of community, corporate and government agencies sponsor floats, we should be careful of the messages that are promoted using our hard-won credibility and acceptance.

As the sole representative of the Animal Justice Party in NSW Parliament, I am deeply concerned with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) being a sponsor of Mardi Gras, either of the parade, Fair Day or any other Mardi Gras event. MLA is the company behind the popular Australia Day lamb ads which aim to distract the public from thinking about the darker side of the trade. MLA is the representative body of Australia’s live export industry, arguably the cruellest animal exploitation industry permitted to exist today. Our call for equality should not be linked with the needless suffering of millions of animals. The vast majority of Australians would agree, with over 70% of Australians oppose to live export.

Before I was elected to NSW Parliament I spent many years at Animal Liberation NSW, running campaigns against live export. Every aspect of this industry shows a cruel disregard for animal well-being. Animals suffer long hours transported in trucks, without food or water, often in the searing heat. They are then jammed by the thousands into live export ships where animals stand in their own excrement, often for weeks on end. The air is foetid with ammonia fumes burning the eyes and the lungs. Not all animals survive the journey and sadly, they are the lucky ones. We have all seen the horror footage of sheep packed into the boots of cars, trussed up on the back of utes or penned in the blazing heat without food or water, waiting for the slaughterman’s knife.

LGBTQI equality should not be obtained through partnerships with organisations or industries that operate without a social licence. Horrific animal cruelty and abuse has been exposed in the Australian live export industry for decades, and yet the industry continues to operate with impunity and for the most part without reform. I do not want my beloved Mardi Gras to give credibility to a company that trades in animal cruelty. The MLA’s ‘lamb dance’ Mardi Gras entry makes a mockery of the suffering and death of millions of sheep on transport ships and in the bloody slaughterhouses.

The MLA is cynically exploiting the feelgood vibe of Mardi Gras to gain community support by associating with the LGBTQI community’s brand. This will serve only to legitimise their cause and delegitimise our own. There should be no place for celebrating animal cruelty in Mardi Gras.